Zahid says door for Umno-PAS cooperation ‘wide open’, eyes million-strong unity rally ahead of GE16

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 12 — Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has expressed optimism about the potential for cooperation between Malaysia's two largest Malay-based parties, Umno and PAS, ahead of the 2016 general election. The presence of PAS leaders at this year's Umno general assembly, led by PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan, demonstrates that the room for friendship between the two parties is wide open, according to Zahid.

He stated, "God willing, we will be open for a tahaluf siyasi with them," which translates to a political understanding. In response, Umno Youth chief Datuk Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh has been instructed to collaborate with his PAS counterparts and mobilize over a million Malay-Muslims for a massive unity rally dubbed "Himpunan Perpaduan Ummah."

This cooperation, similar to the short-lived Muafakat Nasional alliance in 2018, aims to replicate the power-sharing arrangement between Umno and PAS in Negeri Sembilan ahead of the 2016 general election.